On Target: Knowing and Narrowing Your Email Market

by Victor Green
3 mins read

The difference between a successful email marketing campaign and a total crash and burn is not only knowing your audience, but handpicking them. It’s about being intentional and landing directly on the mark. For a seasoned company, this gets easier as they become more aware of who their audience is and can build interest more naturally over time. For a startup, however, it can be a bit tricky knowing who’s interested in your product.For instance, if you’re selling car cleaning products, you may think that your clients are car enthusiasts, or at the very least, consumers who like to keep their automobiles clean on a regular basis. It may surprise you, however, to find that your customer base grows into auto parts stores, car washes, and even department store chains. As your market grows, your emails should become more targeted towards that audience, while weeding out those who would not be interested in your car cleaning products at all.

Market Research

One thing that you can do to accelerate market expansion is to perform comprehensive research on the front end. You may find that your target audience is much broader than you initially thought. Instead of reaching a local audience, it’s possible that your product could go regional or even national. You may want to hire a marketing firm to do the research for you. This will save you a considerable amount of time and help you get your advertising campaign out there a lot faster. Market research weeds out the clients who will not be using your product while focusing on the ones who do. The result will be a greater response and more sales on the front end.

Understanding Your Demographic

You know that there’s a market out there for your product. But exactly what does that look like? This question is answered through demographic profiling. Once you open your store, whether it’s online or has a physical street address, what does the perfect customer look like walking through the door? Understanding the demographic will help you pinpoint your email campaign. Some things to consider would include:AgeIncome levelHobbies or interestsMarital and family statusPurchasing trendsSelf-identification and personal lifestyleGenderIt’s important to understand what your clients are interested in, where they go, their lifestyle, who their friends are, and any other reason why they’re interested in your product. What drives them to your online site? What gets them through the door?

Becoming The #1 Resource

How do you get all eyes on you? By becoming the hub of your industry. Your email marketing strategies should be both about your products, your industry, and your company’s reputation as being the leader in both. Experts in any field narrow their expertise and become all things to a specific market. This gives you opportunities to create different types of emails that range from ads and promotional material to blogs, links and sources, and educational information.Tim at Inc.com puts it this way, “One way to hone in on a specific sector is to become an established resource in one area. Starbucks, for example, is able to charge premium prices for its coffee even though it also sells pastries, tea, and accessories, because it has positioned the company as an authority on good coffee.”When you become the resource of your industry, you build credibility and earn the trust of potential clients. They not only look to you for great products, but they also look to you for answers on a broad range of topics that are directly related to your business. A good way to start is by creating blogs and articles and then sending out mass emails and newsletters that link back to the blogs. This gets traffic flowing to your site and creates awareness about your business and your products or service. It also helps you refine your market and have a good understanding of who your clients are.

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